Ferrari’s bid for redemption: Appeals to rescind Carlos Sainz’s ‘unfair’ Australian GP penalty
Ferrari has requested a review of Carlos Sainz's five-second penalty at the Australian Grand Prix
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Melbourne crashes (Credits: The race)
Ferrari has requested a review of Carlos Sainz‘s penalty after a disappointing showing at the Australian Grand Prix. The Italian team has had one of their worst starts to a season in the previous 15 years, with only 25 points and two DNFS. They failed to secure a single point in Australia, with Charles Leclerc retiring on the first lap after a collision and Carlos Sainz falling out of points after a five-second penalty.
The race had three red flags, the most in history. The race resumed after the second red flag with two laps to go and was chaos as cars crashed and clashed, including Sainz, who bumped fellow countryman Fernando Alonso‘s rear tyre, sending him spinning. Stewards reviewed the whole event and determined that only Carlos Sainz deserved a penalty, awarding him a five-second penalty. Ferrari has filed an appeal against this penalty.
Red flag was once again waved and the race restarted behind the safety car, and since the pack was bunched up, Carlos Sainz ended up finishing last, in 12th, as a total of eight cars failed to complete the race. “As we are discussing with the FIA, and we sent the report to the FIA, I don’t want to disclose any details of this discussion,” said team boss Fred Vasseur. “The process is that first they will have a look at our petition to see if they can re-open the case.”
Ferrari seeks justice for Carlos Sainz’s Australian GP penalty
“It’s up to the stewards to what is the right penalty, but for me, at least for Carlos, for the team, to reopen the discussion, it’s a first step. The outcome of this will be up to the FIA. We have our argument for sure, but I will keep the argument for the FIA. The outcome of this will be up to the FIA. We have our argument for sure, but I will keep the argument for the FIA. It’s where the frustration came from, because we had the feeling that the Ocon/Gasly situation was treated a bit differently,” explained Vasseur.
They have the lead on the situation now. It’s up to them to decide the first hearing about the fact that they can receive or not the request. It’s up to them to decide when they want to do it. It could be in Baku, or it could be before. We prefer to do it before and be focused on something else in Baku. What we can expect is at least to have an open discussion with them, and also for the good of the sport to avoid this kind of decision when you have three cases on the same corner, and not the same decision,” said Vasseur.
Sainz had a laborious race, starting sixth on the grid and pitted on lap seven due to a safety car. He had bad timing with the red flag and had to make his way up the pitch. He was fourth until the second red flag was waved due to Kevin Magnussen‘s Haas tyre coming off free. Sainz was devastated by the outcome and expressed dismay over the radio when he learned of the penalty.
With their request for a review of Sainz’s penalty, Ferrari is hoping for a good conclusion before the following race in Azerbaijan. It is unclear if the FIA will accept their appeal and reopen the case. Meanwhile, the team will concentrate on planning. Meanwhile, the team will concentrate on preparation for future races with the hopes of improving their performance and securing better results.
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Rohit Bhaskar
(727 Articles Published)